Battle Creek Campus

ESa developed an overall campus master plan for the Maury County Public School system that includes an elementary school, middle school, high school and associated sports facilities, a city ballﬁeld complex and walking paths on a rural 242-acre site. Construction of the ﬁrst two phases of the master plan, both the elementary school and the middle school, is currently underway.

Each school is oriented to optimize views of the surrounding natural landscape and limit disturbance to a large creek that meanders the site. The new 700-student elementary and 1,000-student middle schools will honor the agricultural history of the area with clean, modern design. The schools’ purpose-driven design is inspired by a Problem Based Learning curriculum encouraging students to learn through open-ended problem solving and collaboration.

Organized around the dining hall, library and central courtyard with multiple outdoor teaching zones, the split-level design of the middle school responds to the site and maximizes available square footage. Middle school students, spanning from ﬁfth to eighth grade, are grouped into “neighborhoods” by grades. Classrooms with sliding glass walls open to create large, shared common spaces. Two dedicated STEM labs also allow students to collaborate and explore during scheduled lab times and free periods. Fifth graders have their own dedicated wing and playground to help ease the transition into middle school. The design of the single-story elementary school includes two inclement weather rooms that provide safe areas during severe weather.